


The Shrouded Path

by orphan_account



Category: League of Legends
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, It's comfort if you squint though, M/M, Night Terrors
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-14
Updated: 2019-07-12
Packaged: 2020-06-26 18:33:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,591
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19773988
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: The story of Kayn's perseverance and making a bad situation favorable





	The Shrouded Path

**Author's Note:**

> Hello!! This is my first ever work posted to this site, and it was a long struggle to decide whether to create a Zed/Shen Fic or.. well this..perhaps after this is finished i'll make the Shen/Zed fic i'd been planning :)! 
> 
> Anyways... English is not my first language and although i proofread this to death, please let me know if there are any mistakes! Criticism of any kind is welcome as I hope to expand my skills as a writer.
> 
> The summary is a bit lackluster yet i didn't know how best to describe without giving too much away... it'll change in due time

There was a sharp ringing noise bombarding kayn’s ears and mind that nearly drowned out the husky, corrupted laugh that echoed throughout the corridors of the unfamiliar temple he found himself in. There was excruciating pain developing on his finger tips that spread throughout his body, rendering him in almost a paralytic state. He couldn't move, every flex of muscle only heightened the unfavorable pain he was experiencing. The heavy weight of the thick blade that was lodged inside of his stomach dragged Kayn down until he eventually caved into the pain and weight and collapsed unceremoniously on the dusted stone flooring. Kayn couldn’t help but fear the thought of looking down at his battered body. he didn’t need to.

  
The pain already detailed everything a third party viewer would see when looking at him in this state; he could feel the darkin’s rough armor-like skin peeling through the mass of muscle and skin-could feel his body dematerializing as the darkin's true form took over his puny mortal one. Kayn let out a shriek that hitched in the back of his throat before letting out the bile that spewed from his throat, the harsh acidic and metallic taste stayed permanent on his tongue. The pain was suffocating him, his own blood drowned him. C _an’t breath_. Kayn let out broken gasps that caught in his throat and could almost taste the salty tears that flowed down his cheeks and into the curvature of his defiled mouth. Kayn tried his best to hold back his pained noises; he knew each pant, prayer and scream would fall to deaf ears and would only fuel the sadistic pleasure the mysterious darkin was receiving from seeing its host fall apart-both metaphorically and physically.

  
Kayn glanced in his final moments to his side, peering at the reflection of a small pool. Staring back at him was the unmistakable sight of a darkin he did not quite recognize with a small sliver of the human part that had not been corrupted-the part trying valiantly to fight back the corruption. Karyn couldn’t recognize the last remaining pieces of the human that stared at him from the reflection of the pool. Not that it’d mattered; whoever this individual was didn’t matter in the end. their fate was inevitable, the only thing that’d matter in the end was the chaos the dark kin would bring with its newfound freedom. 

  
he heard the dark kin hiss out huskily, before the last remaining part of the human that was neglected to the corruption was finally taken, leaving Kayn staring at the dark murky water reflecting the darkin as a shrill laughter echoed in his mind and throughout the empty temple. His skin crawled with the hunger of bloodthirst and chaos, a feeling he'd not felt since he had been a mere child. 

“ ** _They think me defeated, enchained. But I am unbowed... Noble is this carnage._** ”

  
Kayn awoke with a sharp gasp, heart pounding heavily in his chest. The pale man felt uncomfortable laying in his tossed bed sheet and his garments felt disgusting, sweat sticking the slacks tightly to his legs. he felt trapped in the hot confines of his bed and clothes. No, in fact one could describe the feeling as suffocating-similar to how he'd felt in his night terror, only without the pain piercing throughout his body. Kayn shuddered as he kicked off the thin sheets off the bed with disdain before sitting up solemnly, resting his hands on his neck as he stared with a ghastly expression up at the wall adjacent to his bed, eyes tracing the outlines of the moon's light and every imperfection of it defined by the rustling trees that surrounded the monastery.

  
**“Sweet dreams?”**

  
Kayn jumped at the sudden sound of Rhaast's condescending quip, interrupting his few minuscule moments of peace. Kayn couldn’t help the soft deprecating laugh that escaped his throat.

“Yeah, no.” Kayn spat out bitterly, narrowing his eyes to the scythe that hung on the weapon rack next to his bedside, dark red clashing with the natural lighting of the moon giving the darkin weapon a far more sinister depth and attention to detail than the man would've liked. Kayn shivered as he felt Rhaast rumble a feral purr of amusement at the feeling of kayn’s unrelished fear sprouting from the remnants of his nightmare. It brought back memories of his night terror, even if the circumstances were different. 

  
**“Really? I think i'd find it rather enjoyable.”** Rhaast hummed. Enjoyable was a very lacking word;the enjoyment he felt had excited the darkkin. he couldn’t help but feel a rush of arousal at the sight of raw, unrelinquished fear that emanated from Kayn's slumber. Every toss and turn, every gasp left Rhaast desperate for more. Fear was intoxicating in general, but when it specifically came from Kayn-a being whose fear was rarely ever shown or explored-he couldn’t help but feel pride at being one of the very few to see the cocky acolyte at his lowest. Seeing the young assassin at such a primitive, vulnerable state gave Rhaast an indescribable pleasure however it was him who wanted to inflict such fear onto his dearest host. _He_ wanted to be the one to make the man shake, scream, and cry out for mercy. There was nothing more Rhaast wanted to see more than the idiotic boy bowing at his feet, pleading for Rhaast to give him an ounce of mercy between sobs. Rhaast wanted to see Kayn's prideful facade crumble from his mere claws and reduce him to nothing... make the shadow assassin wish he hadn't averted the fate of dying as nothing more than a noxian child pawn like he should have.

  
Rhaast suddenly felt Kayn’s piercing gaze fall upon his entrapped figure, almost as if the assassin was staring straight into his soul-if of course they weren’t already linked together. Their souls were nearly one. “ In your fucking dreams.” Rhaast heard him mutter with disgust to which Rhaast merely responded with a dark chuckle. Rhaast watched the lithe figure of his host move off the bed and dispose of his garments carelessly on the rough stone flooring.

  
Kayn didn’t feel self conscious about the demon seeing him nearly exposed as he changed from his dirtied slacks. Rhaast had been with him for a while now;and therefore any shred of shame or dignity he had at first with the dark kin was long lost. Kayn wasnt even sure if the darkin had similar anatomy to him, as far as he knew the dark entities weren't conceived in a way that kayn had knowledge of and kayn was far too embarrassed about the subject to ask. 

As kayn busied himself with putting on cleaner garments, his mind drifted back to his night terror he'd unpleasantly woken up from. Glancing at the darkkin weapon, Kayn let out an unsteady breath. "Hey, Rhaast?" Kayn called out softly while attempting to put back on his usual calm and arrogant persona most had the displeasure of witnessing. Upon hearing the darkin let out a noise of acknowledgement Kayn continued albeit a little begrudgingly. 

"In my dream, i'd witnessed a.... darkin, i think, taking over its host." Kayn was unsure of his own reasoning for letting the darkin in on his night terror, because as far as he knew the darkin would either not care or try and take advantage of the situation and twist the knowledge of Kayn's dream to his own advantage. Perhaps it was just the late night getting to kayn, making him far more open and vulnerable than what he usually allowed himself. Regardless, Kayn refused to let himself open up more about his night terror to the bloodthirsty demon. Kayn wouldnt indulge Rhaast with the gory details however. Refused to let the darkin know how deeply it affected and engraved in his mind. Kayn scoffed with a roll of his eyes when the darkkin let out a raspy laugh. Kayn moved towards the darkkin's trapped form, picking up the scythe with ease off the rack as the darkkin began his taunting. 

**"Shieda, you really are an odd one. Usually one doesn't wake up in a fright from a wet dream, although that does explain the excessive sweating..."** Kayn couldnt help but flinch at the use of his intimate first name and the rather embarrassing words spoken after. Kayn's grip tightened around the scythe as he exited his room in silence as to not wake up the fellow acolytes residing in the monastery, although it was hard to keep biting his tongue when Rhaast seemed persistent on filling his head with nonsense. Kayn desired the taste of fresh air. It was getting far too stuffy in the temple and he needed an escape-even if he was technically bringing the root of all his discomfort with him outside in the form of an obnoxious scythe. Kayn tried his best to block out the darkin's incessant words as he trudged through the dark empty halls of the familiar monastery he called home. Kayn's face flushed the more he listened to Rhaast's rambling, growing more and more agitated as the seconds passed by. Kayn's head snapped to the scythe as he exited out of the monastery. 

"Wh-what are you even blabbering on about you-" Kayn's words fell dead silent as he felt the presence of another outside the monastery with him. Glancing up, Kayn nearly tripped over his own feet at the imposing figure of his master-Zed-standing with his back to his student, unmoving. Kayn's mouth went dry eyes widening in a nervous surprise. Kayn watched stiffly as his master turned to address him slowly, and despite him wearing his armored helmet Kayn could almost see Zed's piercing inquisitive gaze that was shredding every aspect of Kayn's soul. Despite no longer being inside of the monastery, he'd felt far more suffocated and cramped out here under Zed's gaze than when he was in side the safe confines of the Kinkou temple. Kayn felt a chill tremble down his spine that was definitely not caused by the chilly Ionian night. 

Kayn did not dare to speak before his master. Although there was an awkward silence that clouded the already uncomfortable atmosphere, keeping Kayn on edge he had already learned-or more so seen the consequences of talking out of order.

"Shieda." An edged tone laced Zed's words that left Kayn breathless and ashamed. He couldn't help but feel intrusive being alone with the master of shadows who'd no doubt had sought out the pleasantry of quiet and fabricated freedom brought from the expanse of the vegetation shrouded by the darkness of the night giving the area an emotional illusion of space and untainted boundaries. Kayn bit the inside of his cheek, staring blankly at Zed's imposing figure despite being a few yards away. Kayn tried to strip Zed down with his eyes to reveal any kind of feeling or emotion that the master of shadows would give away from his body language-but to no avail. 

_Collected. Content._ Kayn thought bitterly. Traits he was lacking. All the more reasons why he was no more than a mere pupil to his master, no matter how many times he'd tell himself of his superiority, the insecure thoughts would always come biting back until sometimes the only thing Kayn saw of himself was the small Noxian boy in the midst of a war torn battle field. "U _ **nequal and subpar, Kayn**." _Kayn could hear the darkin taunt him as the demon pried into his mind, yet Kayn forced himself to still his mind and mouth from amusing the darkin more with his insecurities. Kayn could still feel the gaze of his master pierce his soul as Kayn examined Zed in privy detail, eyes scouting the outlines of hardened muscle beneath the dark garments of his master's wear. He wasn't wearing his full armored outfit which often hid his master's well maintained figure. Kayn's eyes instinctively flashed to every part of Zed's clothed figure that gave way to his build, and couldn't help admiring the strength that the master of shadows no doubt had, expressed in his dominant, bulking figure-

 **"He's waiting."** Rhaast tutted, voice dripping in amusement. Snapping out of his hazed trance, Kayn adjusted his gaze to peer back to what he presumed to be eye-level to his master. The atmosphere was still thick and heavy, and the passing seconds only made Kayn more edgy. Kayn couldnt help but stay frozen, uncertainty hanging around the tense air. 

  
"I... Couldn't sleep." Kayn answered the unspoken question, voice masked in a fragmented confidence. Zed let out a noise of acknowledgement before stepping to the side, an invitation for Kayn to stand beside him that he only had the pleasure of receiving once in a blue moon. Kayn didn't hesitate to stride next to his master, relishing in the feeling of acceptance and perceived equality between them. Kayn didn't dare look next to him at his master, and instead stared at the expanse of the trees and shrubbery that hid the monastery from prying eyes. Kayn watched the rustling of the lush vegetation spread out in front of him in fake interest, eyes keening over the unending depth brought on by the horizon outlined by the mountains and trees. The silence between the master and student returned once more albeit a little less tense. Kayn was used to Zed's seclusive nature. He knew nothing would fall from his master's lips unless it was of importance. Zed was not one for meaningless small talk. Silence no matter how awkward never seemed to bother Zed, unlike Kayn who'd often feel an intense pressure to reduce the silence. 

"I-I had a dream, Master. Of darkin transformation." Kayn offered to the other man, trying his best not to express any shred of nervousness at the topic of his night terror. Kayn didn't share the grueling pain that had overtaken him during the dream, nor the unruly fear that lingered in the back of his mind or the dark, demeaning laughter that had pierced his ears and shaken him to his core... Kayn couldn't even bear the remembrance of the sight of his own skin betraying him to the darkin's embrace. Kayn felt shame burning in him at the thought of expressing the slightest amount of discomfort and fear around anyone-especially not his own master. It was a sign of weakness, and weakness was not tolerated. 

Zed remained quiet after Kayn's confession. Each passing second fueled the fire of his inner turmoil, and he hadn't realized he'd been holding his breath until he'd let it out slowly upon feeling Zed's hardened gaze on him once again. Kayn continued to stare out in front of the duo, worried that staring his master in the eyes would reveal too much away. It was quiet he suddenly realized. Far too quiet. Despite having Rhaast clutched in his hands, the darkin made no effort to pry into Kayn's mind and enthuse into his insecurities like he'd usually do. It was very unlike him, and Kayn couldn't help but feel on edge. The young assassin and his master were being observed. 

"The unseen blade is the deadliest." Zed replied after many long moments of painful silence and Kayn subconsciously turned his head to stare at his master with furrowed brows. " There seems to be more to this dream of yours. Tell me, Shieda." Zed continued shortly after before averting his gaze from Kayn back to the expanse of vegetation in front of them, with Kayn following suit shortly after as he collected his thoughts. Kayn bit the inside of his cheek, his mind a storm revolving around his night terror. It was a mental battle of how much did he want to give away versus how much he _should_ give away. In the end, Kayn had to swallow his pride begrudgingly. 

" It was a painful dream in a physical aspect. I've never felt pain or anything of the sort in any kind of dream i've had. I dont know how I didn't wake up from the pain initially- Ah, anyways. After witnessing the flesh of my body give way to the darkin's corruption i could see the reflection of the darkin in a small pool. The pain had gone away but then i was overcome with an agonizing feeling of bloodthirst, that was almost more overwhelming than the pain i felt." Silence. Again. Kayn glanced down at the darkin scythe, feeling sheepish as the scythe's eye peered up at him in a morbid curiosity. _Damn you Rhaast, what are you playing at?_

"And are you scared?" There it was again. The harsh, suffocating feeling of being trapped crept back through him. _Are you scared?_ Such a daunting sentence that Kayn had heard asked far too much. Kayn recounted all the different times Rhaast had taunted him with harsh laughter and evil eyes that bore straight into his skull at the slightest hint of hesitance. " _ **Are you scared, boy?**_ " Kayn remembered the soul-shattering, fearful gaze of a Noxian woman completely at Kayn's mercy. Normally the sight of Noxian scum trembling under Kayn's weapons gave him a surge of adrenaline induced pride but something about this particular woman's fearful gaze had struck a chord in Kayn. It was the first time he'd hesitated killing anyone he deemed unworthy. Despite the prior fight between him and the undoubtedly skilled Noxian woman who'd enraged Kayn when she'd successfully sliced a deep cut into his shoulder, the pure emotion that glossed in the woman's eyes reminded Kayn momentarily that despite their allegiances they had all been the same. Kayn had an epiphany that lasted for a few moments, until-" _ **what are you waiting for, a** **re you scared?** " _Pierced through his mind. Kayn didn't hesitate again once he could feel the darkin's corruption creeping through his skin at Kayn's moment of vulnerability, and finished the woman off. Kayn had realized that if he hesitated again, it'd probably be his last. 

" _Yes._ " Confessed Kayn, flustered at the trembling in his voice. Kayn tried his best to ignore Rhaast's soft chuckling and gaze that stared right into his soul. Kayn noticed Zed moving his head to face him once more out of the periphery of his vision. Kayn averted his eyes to stare at the his master one more. The sun was beginning to come up and although the monastery never really got much light due to the geology that often brought dark shadows over the temple, Kayn could see a soft warm light paint the master of shadow's iconic steel helmet. 

"Fear is a force that drives us Shieda, dont be blinded by your own foolish bravado. Every living thing no matter how big or how small is driven by the common goal to survive. To overcome," Zed stopped, seeming to debate over his words. Kayn stayed quiet in an attempt to pry out the words Zed seemed to be keeping in his mind. The few creatures that resided in the woodland area around the temple were beginning to stir. Kayn kept Zed's words in his mind as the sound of the early morning bird's song interrupted the few silence before Zed spoke again. "We all have our fears, from the smallest songbird to the strongest entities. It is the common ground we share between all things, however what we do with our fear is what differentiates us from each other. Dont let fear control or stop you, let it inspire you to overcome your adversities. That is what courage is." Kayn thought over these words, confused at his master's words. Throughout his entire life Kayn viewed fear as shameful and weak. Any time Kayn was reminded of fear, all he could think about were the Noxian children forced to fight in a war that would inevitably lead them to their deaths. The only thing Kayn had felt and been surrounded by back then was fear. It was oppressive and he never wanted to be in a situation like that again. 

"Thank you, Master Zed." Kayn finally mumbled again after some time of self-evaluation. Kayn could sense his presence here was no longer needed judging from Zed's small muffled hum in acknowledgment. Kayn could feel Rhaast's gaze burning through him, and Kayn could feel the irritation surging throughout Rhaast as if the small conversation between Zed and Kayn irked him. Kayn gaze a solemn nod to Zed before turning to head back into the confines of the monastery. The conversation between the Master and student was no longer, and Kayn didn't want to push his luck by lingering around Zed. Kayn's head felt far more clear than it was prior, the suffocating feeling that welled inside of him slowly decaying to make way for a new feeling of contentment. 

Just before Kayn stepped into the dark shadows glossing over the entrance to the temple, he heard the soft calling of his name. Kayn glanced at his Master once more with a solid gaze, feeling somewhat embarrassed that he was incorrect of his presumption that his company was no longer desired. Time seemed to stop as Zed glossed over Kayn. Judging from his master's stiffened stature and hesitation to speak, there was much Zed wanted to convey to him yet the inability to process it into words.

"Do not fear the shrouded path." Zed dissipated in with the shadows that reigned heavy over the Kinkou temple, leaving Kayn alone with his thoughts and the darkin who'd still remained uncharacteristically silent. 

**Author's Note:**

> Kind of vague in the beginning, but the darkin in the beginning is Aatrox! This will not be the last time Aatrox is brought up in this fic ;3.


End file.
